Lourdes Hospital Report

Miss Fitz was a student midwife in Lourdes hospital while Dr Neary was the consultant there. I recall so vividly a day that this man was going to do the ward rounds. Well in advance, we were sent around to all the women, whose beds formed a U-shape down the walls and across the bottom.

Neary Apologia Pg 1 Originally uploaded by Editor_Tupp. While the rest of Blogland have been discussing page 3 of this week's Sunday Times, I was more interested in the story that ran on the Front page, and carried on to page 2 under the heading "Neary was let down by state".

Maman Poulet tells me that Vincent Browne is running reconstructions of Micheal Neary's Fitness to Practice hearings. These are the hearings of the Irish Medical Council, not evidence from the Lourdes Inquiry report. She quotes a line from Neary, telling women what he had done;"I took away the cradle and left the playpen".

From Sarah Carey's valuable reflection on the meaning of the Neary scandalThe Neary saga could only happen where an authority — be it religious, civil, medical or military — is permitted to operate without question and where professionals instinctively cover up for each other. The young midwives who eventually complained successfully about Neary were not the first. There had been others.

Readers ought to be aware that the editor may have a new bee buzzing about his bonnet. To add to his usual mix of fretting over Digital Rights and access to the Four Courts he has decided to take a closer look at the Lourdes Hospital Inquiry Report. I have attempted to find a copy of this report online.